Tutorial: EDI's Make-up

So, EDI's make-up... How do you go from pink human face to silver robot face? Well it's not too hard or expensive but you'll need about 30 minutes and a handful of products.

1

I took this after I applied my make up so I'd already tossed my sponge.

First and foremost gather your products. I actually would suggest just having a set of brushes and case which then belong to EDI otherwise you'll have to thoroughly clean then every time.

1) Silver Eyeliner (I use the Ulta brand, it's okay)

2) Snazaroo Face Paint in either White (what I prefer), Silver or Grey and a sponge and water

3) Platinum Eye Shadow and Face Brush (Covergirl's Silver Lining is my fav)

4) Black Eyeliner

5) Brow Gel (I use clear)

6) Mid Grey Eye Shadow and Eye Shadow Brush (I use Jordana in Gunmetal)

7) Silver Lipstick and Lip Brush (I use Morgana Cryptoria's Silver Witch but it's discontinued)

8) Ben Nye Final Seal

9) Black Mascara (I prefer Maybelline's Falsies but I had this open. Use something which really gives you big long lashes)

2

Then wash and moisturize your face then line your waterline with silver. (I didn't take a pic as I don't put basically no make up pics online).

3

Spoiler alert: I have hella bitchy resting face. I'm actually quite happy with life this morning.

Cover your whole face with the Snazaroo, I prefer white as a base as then it matches the silver metallic material in my outfit. Grey or Silver also work, Grey give a much darker look (so if your silver is backed by black this would be good) and Silver is middle of the road. Stipple it on with a damp make up sponge, try and get it as even as possible but as you can see here it can be a liiiittle blotchy (which white has probs with). Also from this point on try not to emote. Until the Final Seal is dried you don't want to crease any part of your face if possible.

4

Next up is dusting the Silver/Platinum eye shadow all over your face. Pretend you're putting on a thick layer of loose powder. If you wanted you could throw on a layer of transparent loose powder (the Ben Nye one works wonderfully) after the next step if you have worries about your face getting oily or sweaty.

5

There's actually a lot of steps shown in this pic since I took pics by product. This is the middle grey eye shadow level. Use this to fill in your brows (and tame said brows with brow gel if needed), then cover your eye lids (but not the part between the eyelid and the brow bone). I kind of smoke it since I've already got that platinum by the brow bone. Lastly use it to contour your face/as a blush. This is going to be different for every person but since I have a baby face I swipe it under my cheekbones at a downward angle and dust the underside of my chin as well using the face brush. Remember for contouring to use a light hand, you can build it up but it's a pain to fix it (basically dust more platinum over to fix it).

6

Lipstick, use a lip brush it really makes getting a nice edge much easier and since it's such an extreme color difference that matters.

7

Eyeliner! She has a thick winged look. I prefer pencil but liquid would also work.

8

Final Seal. No pic here since you can't see it. Just mist it over your face. It stings a little and is rather minty but it dries after 3-5 minutes. So maybe take a sit and listen to some nice music.

9

Mascara I do after Final Seal since I don't use waterproof.

And then ta-da! We're done!

Attitude is Everything: About the Importance of Being Positive

"OMG this traffic is a nightmaaaaare... You know what, why don't I take a break from driving and get some ramen? I'm passing through Austin anyways... Oh god I forgot how much I love Daruma ~<3"

Over the weekend I was reminded of the importance of not just being positive towards other cosplayers but to everyone - including yourself!

San Japan started out... bad. Just getting there was a nightmare. Anything resembling the schedule I had was out the window once the first photo shoot was done. I had three more after that and my roomies were stuck in traffic too so ended up changing in a parking garage (not my first time, so really not a big deal).

I could have easily been all "Gawd we scheduled for this time I can't believe he's not even responding to my texts!" but instead I reminded myself he's an amazing photographer and very in demand and he'd even mentioned that I, his third shoot, was the first to be timely. I was bummed because I'm really proud of how Diantha came out and that shoot just got outright cancelled. Instead I spent time with some friends and explored and reminded myself I could get pictures in the future (and the pics from the shoots we did were AMAZING). Another photographer friend ended up doing a shoot for me for that costume the next day since I asked politely (from what I saw they also look amazing). I also forgot a major piece to one costume but I reminded myself that I could wear one of the other costumes I hadn't been able to wear the night before instead. One of my contacts tore on Sunday but hey they were towards the end of their life, I'd gotten pictures the night before and it was Sunday so the chill day anyways, noone would care that Diantha didn't have blue eyes and was wandering around in glasses.

What sticks out most about the con was that I got to hang out with some good friends, get some shots in a very lovely place and was flattered when several photographers I'd never met before but heard about asked to shoot a costume of mine. Not that traffic was hellacious, parking was a challenge, I got sick Friday night or that my schedule was almost entirely a wash.

Basically what I'm saying is that even when things go wrong try and focus on what's going okay, ways you can work around the problem and not just gripe about it or accept that something just isn't going to go according to plan. You'll be happier and honestly it's more fun/comfortable to be around people who also are chill/positive so you'll be a positive energy for your friends too. I was literally told that by two of my fellow cosplayers, that because I'm so chill that they really enjoy hanging out and rooming with me. You can always reschedule a photoshoot or wear a costume another time. Your eye health is more important than accuracy. Very rarely are things the end of the world, so be chill. It maaaay have taken me almost a decade of cons and cosplay to realize this but man it's made things so much more enjoyable.

"Hey, be careful so you don't fall in lol!"
"Haha thanks guys. Now shush this takes concentration."

Oh also, side note, being adventurous about posing and positive in photoshoots leads to amazing photos. Sometimes the poses which feel the stupidest end up looking really cool (wait until you see the Glynda pics from RTX)! When Bryan asked if I might be able to pose on the spillway the first time when I was in Kirara I was like "Won't know until I try! I've gone hiking in these heels so it shouldn't be too hard and worse that happens is I go for a swim." Then when I was in EDI in much more ridiculous shoes I was able to remind myself that it hadn't been that hard in Kirara so I could probably manage it in EDI's silly shoes too. It was a bit scary (you can't tell but I was shaking like a leaf, I couldn't manage to get to the middle since it was so precarious) but I stayed positive and was also not too proud to accept a helping hand from a very nice tourist who climbed out on the rocks when he saw me nervously hopping back once we got the shots. I knew the shots would be great and everyone else seemed to have a good time watching us.

So remember, be positive and try to have fun! Even if things don't work out like you planned if you try to have fun you'll probably actually have fun.